The £420 million modernisation of Brighton’s biggest hospital is awaiting final approval from the Treasury after a series of meetings since the start of the year.
The news was shared when the Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust met this morning (Monday 26 January).
The trust runs the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Kemp Town, the oldest part of which predates the reign of Queen Victoria.
If the Department of Health and the Treasury agree, then the Chancellor George Osborne could give his approval to the final business case for the modernisation before the general election in May.
There are hopes that Mr Osborne could announce his decision as soon as the budget if not before.
He came to the Royal Sussex in person last May to announce that he had approved the outline business case.
The full business case for modernising the Royal Sussex was given the support of the Trust Development Authority (TDA) at a meeting of its board last Thursday (22 January).
This is a crucial stage in the official checks and balances required by civil servants at the Treasury and Department of Health.
It followed a special meeting of the hospital trust board last Monday (19 January) to address issues raised by the TDA.
Today the hospital trust board was told that NHS England had also reviewed the full business case and discussed it at a meeting on Monday 12 January.
Royal Sussex boss Matthew Kershaw said: “There has been a tremendous amount of work going on behind the scenes from all the team at the trust – and our colleagues in the approving bodies – over the last few months.
“This cannot be underestimated in the context of the huge improvements that this will bring to patient care in the trust for the patients of Brighton and Hove, Sussex and beyond.”
